The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved the spectrum lease agreement between MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Natcom Development and Investment Limited (NTEL).
The telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, announced this in a note to the Nigerian Exchange Group, to the effect that NTEL’s 5MHz Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) in the 900MHz spectrum band and 10MHz FDD in the 1800MHz spectrum band covering 19 states of the federation have been leased to MTN Nigeria at the cost of N4.25 billion including taxes, regulatory fees and ancillary charges for a period of two years effective 1 May 2023.
“In addition, having accepted NCC’s offer to renew our 2100MHz spectrum for a period of 15 years, effective from 1 May 2022 to 20 April 2037, MTN Nigeria has paid N58.66 billion to the NCC. The 2100MHz spectrum licence enables the provision of 3G mobile services on our network,” MTN Nigeria stated.
Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria chief executive officer, attributed the latest move by his company to the desire to enhance user experience and boost capacity.
He said: “This is a significant milestone in delivering our Ambition 2025 strategy. The access to NTEL’s 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums broadens our spectrum holdings and improves our 3G and 4G user experience as coverage and capacity will be enhanced by utilizing these spectrums.”
MTN Group currently operates in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
In a similar development, Airtel Africa, with presence in 14 African countries, has renewed its 2x10MHz 2100MHz spectrum licence, the company announced in a note to the Nigerian Exchange Limited. The transactions cost N58.7 billion with the renewed licence due to last for the next 15 years, following the expiry of the previous licence on 31 April 2022.
“This investment to renew the licence reflects our continued confidence in the opportunity inherent across the Nigerian market, supporting the local communities and economies through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity,” Simon O’Hara, Airtel Africa’s group company secretary, said in a note to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
As of December 2022, MTN Nigeria maintained its position as the market leader, with 89.01 million active subscribers for telephony services while Airtel Africa had 60.07 million subscribers.
At the end of the first quarter of 2023, MTN Nigeria realized N568.14 billion as revenue, representing an increase of 20.6 percent over N470.98 billion made in similar period in 2022.
First quarter 2023 profit after taxation was higher by 4 percent to N100.49 billion as against N96.82 billion realized in the corresponding period of 2022.
“MTNN’s performance continues its upward trend, with another double-digit revenue growth in Q1:2023. We expect this to persist over the next quarter as the return on investment in 5G infrastructure begins to support earnings growth.
“After considering the factors outlined, we maintain our bullish stance on MTN Nigeria Communications Plc. Our positive outlook is predicated on the upward trend in revenue growth in the second quarter of the year,” ARM Securities said in a note to investors.
